Porta Interpono
by Lammybug
Summary: A bridge has appeared. The night sky will never be the same again.
1. Prospicio

**Disclaimer: **No copyright infringement intended.

**Summary**: A bridge has appeared. The sky will never be the same again.

Porta Interpono is Latin for, "the gate between".

Prospicio is Latin for, "to look into the distance".

_**Porta Interpono**_

**Chapter One: Prospicio**

"I want to go in."

"Uh... What?" snaps Prompto sharply.

"Noct, you can't really be thinking..."

"We all know it isn't safe," comments Ignis.

"All the tests came back negative for contaminants, right?" he asks, turning away from the large monitor to look back at them.

"True," hesitates Ignis, much like he does when he does not like what is being said but cannot refute it.

"But look at what happened to the people that were in there!" cries Prompto.

"Teams have gone in with suits and have not returned," states Gladiolus.

"And the only one man that managed to come back, is barely alive," finishes Ignis.

"But it was not the air that made him that way."

"Because _it_ killed them!" cries Prompto again.

"But it _wasn't_ anything in the air," he calmly states again. "All the men were wearing airtight suits. So it was something else."

"Noct, we don't know enough..."

"And we never will unless someone else goes in," he interrupts Ignis.

"Why you?" demands Prompto.

"Who better to fight whatever is in there?"

This they cannot argue against. As far as a fight, he was the best to send in. It was just, for obvious reasons, they had reservations about doing that. Right now he knew they were running out of options and he was that last option to figure out what was really going on. Their earlier mistake had been only sending in a minimal amount of security for a select group of scientists. They had not been prepared for the loss they suffered in there and they still had no idea what had killed those people. He was tired of sitting on his hands and waiting for answers that were not coming and he did always prefer a more direct approach. The recent change of events was allowing him to be able to exact that too.

"Noct, the scientist who did make it back... he didn't come back..."

"With all his marbles," blurts out Prompto.

"He was _traumatized_," he says patiently. "From the vid feeds that we did see, I am sure I cannot blame him. But they went in completely unprepared. At least I will be more cautious."

"Are you sure?" asks Glad.

"Noct," Ignis says to gain his attention. "It's not just the guy that went in that's been effected either."

"Yeah, people have been seeing some freaky stuff from just watching those feeds," says Pro.

"Noct," says Glad, looking at him closely. "Did _you_ see something?"

"I did not see anything mysterious other than what you guys saw," he says firmly and that was not a lie.

"Let me get another team assembled..." tries Ignis.

"Nobody will volunteer after what happened to the first group," he states flatly.

They all knew this to also be the truth. After witnessing the sheer terror on the one survivor's face when they managed to pull him back through to their side, nobody wanted to willingly go back inside. Inside the dome that had suddenly appeared from nowhere, within the city limits of Nihilsomno and torn his kingdom into panicked chaos. They had been sending drones to take pictures of the surrounding areas but it was not long before even those stopped working once they reached the inside. All they could manage at the moment was to have cameras set up just outside the parameter looking in, but that was not really helping them either. They needed eyes inside. Thousands of people had been caught inside it and from what they could see, they were all dead. Not just dead either. It turns his stomach to remember the images of all those bodies and he does not savor having to see them in person, but must do what he must do. This was a war and he could not be faint of heart.

Many were saying it was Etro's gateway to the Underworld revealed. If that were true then it would be that only those within it's silvery walls would be effected. Which was not the case. People on the outside were being effected as well and some of them had been no where near the dome.

"Then I'm going with you," says Glad.

"We all have to go," states Ignis.

"Can't let you have all the fun," affirms Pro.

"Not all of us can go," he insists, looking between the three of them. "Glad, stay with Ignis and monitor our progress. As far as we know it is only the video that stops working once inside. The mics work just fine."

"Noct, what if what happened to those people happens to...?"

"It won't," he reassures Ignis. "I need to go in."

"With suits, Noct?" asks Pro.

He shakes his head in answer.

"Do you know where you want to go?" asks Glad.

"Yes," he answers. "And I need to get there soon."

Many try to stop him, but he will not be deterred from entering. It takes longer than he anticipates to reach within the confines of the dome, but he gets there. It is like walking through what hell would be like. There is a chill in the air that has nothing to do with a low temperature. It is eery and dark, tinged with an unnatural putrid green glow. The sun does not shine here, in what appears to be a world cloaked in perpetual night. A fake night. A night of death that had no end to unspeakable of horrors. Mask-less and without any protection from the elements, he can feel and smell the stench of decaying death but he does not waver and he does not stop. His feet feel guided as he walks about the streets of what was once one of the more prominent areas in the city until he reaches the tower that he knows he needs to go to.

When he reaches the roof, he walks onto the iron laden flooring that looks out over the rest of the city skyline. However it is not the view that has brought him here, but the misty silhouette of the one who stands on the roof with him. The figure slowly materializes on the other side of the room before him, walking steadily closer and solidifies from mist to solid. It is a man. A dark man whose face he cannot see for the Kabuki mask covering his face. He wears a black overcoat trimmed in green and has equally dark hair. A figure darker than black. Not an ordinary man. One who does not belong. His long coat billows in the tainted winds as they regard each other.

"Did you do this?" he demands, but the dark man does not answer.

"Someone is coming," the dark man says in warning. His face looks up above them for a moment before turning to stare at him pointedly.

When his eyes follow and looks up, he is taken aback to see that there are no stars lighting the sky. There is no moon either. There is nothing but a black void above them and is somehow more terrifying than the sight of all those melting bodies in the city streets below them. His startled blue eyes fly to the dark man.

"The stars have fallen," the dark man says. His voice sounds right inside his head rather than from his ears. It echoes in his mind like a mantra.

_The stars have fallen..._

The voice propels him awake and he jumps up in preparation of a fight that is not there.

"What?" he whispers to himself as his eyes slowly focus on surroundings of his bedroom.

A dream.

Then he hears it. A faint popping noise before the sounds of a huge crash rocks the entire city. His furniture trembles. His paintings clatter against the wall. His various figures and books fall to the floor. It is not even a few moments later when he can hear the sounds of cries and the rushing of panicked feet just outside his doors and he knows... he just _knows_, that his dream was not a dream at all.


	2. Initium

Initium is Latin for, "Beginning, start, commencement".

**Chapter Two: Initium**

At first glance, it looked like someone had placed a gigantic crystal cake covering over a large portion of the city. It's crystal walls gleaned in the light of the late afternoon sun as they stare as a group. What seemed more accurate was that it looked like a massive quarantine bubble. You could see almost inside of it but, as they have already established, one would have to be a fool to want to pass it's walls to go inside. It was like looking into the world of the dead. The air inside appeared murky and haunting, giving the buildings and streets caught within its barrier a ghostly stillness. Then there were the bodies. You could not see them readily, but he knows that they are there. The bodies of all those unfortunate ones that were just at the wrong place at the wrong time when this monstrosity appeared.

Initially, would be rescuers, had tried to get inside to help, only to never come back out again and very quickly there was mass hysteria. It had quickly become apparent, that it was dangerous for anyone to approach the Dome. The media was all over it and demanded answers from a government that had not one clue as to what this was. More importantly, they had no idea how to get rid of it. They had already been thrown by the crisis that they had been going through prior to any of this ever even occurring. Bad timing was a major understatement. Or perhaps, it was just the _right_ time. Steps had immediately been taken to prevent attempts at entry and road blocks were quickly set up. Which proved to be needless after an overzealous reporter and cameraman had tried getting inside to record what had happened to the citizens caught inside the Dome.

Though the camera did not last long before it inexplicably shut off, from the sounds of the screams that came from both men, it had been clear. Do not go in there. The rising terror that had been evident in the reporter's and cameraman's voices in reaction to what they had seen before they too had been killed was enough to keep anyone from thinking twice about going in. The incident had been an effective warning and saved him the headache of trying to keep people out. After that report, the masses as a whole, stayed as far away as they could get from that thing.

This then led to open and angry protests to push the ruling class to do _something_. In this, everyone was in agreement. They all wanted it _gone._ Which was easier said than done, when there was no solution to make this happen. The last two weeks have been a living nightmare for him. The dream that came to him the night it happened has plagued him since this all began and he knows that he must follow where it leads. It did not take a smart man to realize that his dream was a fore glean of what was to come. Everything that had happened since then, has felt like deja vu. He had tried his hardest to warn and prepare those who were chosen for an official expedition into the Dome and felt how powerless he truly was when they met their ill fated ends, regardless of his extra precautions, as he had known they would. He wants to blame it on the injustice of how badly he was demeaned by those in power all through his life for their flippant attitude towards his suggestions, but deep down he knows that there was nothing he could have done to save those people from what happened. It was a lesson to him that he had a title, but that meant nothing if nobody respected him. Which they did not.

The first expedition into the Dome is considered another national catastrophe. One in along line of many that were happening one after the other. So many tragedies in so short a period of time. Especially the one he has tried very hard not to think about too often. The council was doing all that it could to take away his birthright and considering recent events, it seemed likely that they would be successful. He had to prove himself and he had to do it quickly. He had anticipated a war, but never could he have planned for this. Things were happening too fast. People were dying too quickly and they were still dying and they did not understand that either. Many of the Council were dead and the ones that were alive, were desperate for his power. At this point, it would be easy to gain it with the approval of a people desperate for proper leadership.

In the mean time, they had nothing. Nothing to go on to develop a proper defense against this enemy directly in their midst. So they did what they had to do to assure that there would not be outright rebellion amidst the people. So, no matter that it was no safety at all, they still gave the illusion of providing it by the extradited efforts to erect a wall or barrier between the rest of the population of the city and the Dome. It's origins, they would continue to discover but at least the visual effort to protect its citizens appeased the people somewhat. It would not keep them satisfied much longer.

It would be easier if someone would step forward and claim the responsibility of such a travesty, but none were forthcoming. Nobody had been expecting this and nobody knew what to do about it. The Dome merely stood there, for all to see, as a constant reminder that they were powerless. That _he_ was powerless. The council were in discussions on how to destroy it and he agreed that they should, but it was a delicate decision. The location of the Dome made it impossible to try and destroy it with a nuclear device. There was also nothing to indicate that it would even damage it since they had no idea what it was made of in the first place. Even after a week since it's appearance, they were still unprepared and defenseless. It was only natural and inevitable that a caged beast would attempt something desperate and lethal in response to this stress. He feels like he is that caged beast with all the attacks he has been suffering these last two weeks. He does know this for sure though. It is the only thing he does knot for a certainty. He will defend his city. He will protect his Kingdom.

They all look out at the Dome, perched on an abandoned bridge just in view and he can concede that despite it all, it was beautiful in its way. If Death could be beautiful.

"It looks like some demented snow globe," comments Pro, leaning against a pillar.

"It's evil," says Glad. "Pure unadulterated evil."

"I want it gone," he replies. "No matter what the cost."

"I fear the price may be too high for any of us to pay," replies Ignis gravely.

He felt that to be true too. Whatever that thing was. No matter what it's purpose, it would not be gone without grave sacrifice. It had already taken so much from them. It had taken from _him_ and it felt like things were just starting to begin.

"What do you think, Ignis?" asks Glad.

"Something like that takes a massive amount of energy," Ignis starts to explain. "If we could somehow figure out how it was generating so much power, we might be able to severe the connection and make it collapse by itself."

"Do you think the fanatics are right?" he asks. "Do you think this is Etro's gate?"

"I hope not," Ignis replies, taking in a deep breath. "That would mean everyone here is going to die."

"Do you think we are being punished?" asks Pro.

_For not sharing the powers of our Crystal,_ goes unsaid.

"Maybe we need to be," he wonders grimly. "We will most definitely be once this is over."

"So pessimistic..." mutters Pro.

"There has to be something else," insists Ignis, ever the optimist. "For something like this to appear, there has to be something... some demand from somewhere."

He thinks back on his dream and remembers the words the masked man had said. Someone was coming. The stars have fallen. He figures that it is not the presence of the man himself that the man had been referring to. It meant someone else was coming or was already here. Some unknown presence that was yet approaching and not here just yet. His face tilts upwards to the setting sky and shakes his head. The stars had not changed and none had fallen. Did that mean they will? It was said in the past tense. Did that mean others were coming as well?

"Noct? Did you hear me?" asks Ignis.

"What?" he asks, blinking his eyes to focus on his friend. "What did you say?"

"How are you doing?"

"What do you mean by that?" he asks with a frown, at the randomness of the question.

"Not a week after your father is murdered and all this happens," points out Glad. "It's a lot of go through and a lot to process."

"And we still don't have any suspects on who did it," reminds Pro.

He lets out a frustrated breath and resists the urge to rub his forehead.

"I have not forgotten that," he points out. He tries his hardest not to think about it. The way his father had looked when they had found his body. The last look his father's face would ever make. That image was one that he tried to block continually and with effort.

His father had been murdered by an efficient killer. The old man had fought, but not like he should have. Which meant he had hesitated. Which meant that he had known his killer and had cared about them. That did not leave many, as his father ad not been a caring man. So, it was only a matter of time before they figured out who that killer was. For now, there was not enough evidence to point to anyone.

The news of the death of their monarch had hit the people hard. There had been public bouts of mourning in the days following the announcement. People were afraid. Afraid of what it meant to have _him_ reign in place of his father. He who was considered a boy. A boy who had ideas and plans, but was constantly brushed aside by the established government that did not want a boy where a man should be sitting. It was all the stress of inheriting a kingdom and losing a father, whose affection he had never regained that he had been susceptible to morbid dreams. Or so he had rationalized at the time. He had just been reviewing the disturbing results from the autopsy and so it had felt natural to have such a dream about the end of the world. How ironic that he had woken up to find that his world had indeed, ended.

He is just about to say something to this effect to his friends when something from the corner of his sight, catches his eye.

"Noct? Noct what is?" asks Ignis, noticing his look.

"That cannot be," he mutters to himself in disbelief. He clenches his jaw and teleports away without any explanation.

There _he_ was. There, partially hidden within the clusters of buildings, just visible enough to gain his attention. The man in black. The dark man from his dream. Vainly, he tries to reach him in time only to see the dark man turning a corner just as he reaches the spot he had been watching him from. When he reaches that corner, the dark man is walking down a street and making his way down to the trains below. So he races down those steps in pursuit.

Whoever he is, his timing is impeccable. The trains have just unloaded hundreds of passengers, making it easy to blend in and lost in the crowd. The tunnels are packed with commuters coming and going. His eyes scan the many faces in hopes of catching another glimpse of his query but finds no sight of him. Several of the commuters recognize him and begin giving him a wide berth, making it even more impossible to see. He bites back a curse when his phone starts buzzing from within his pocket.

"Yeah," he answers, still glancing to and fro.

" Was it something I said?" Ignis comments dryly.

"Just wanted to stretch my legs for a bit," he shoots back.

"Is that the trains I hear?"

"Yes."

"Felt like discovering what it's like to be packed like a sardine in a moving car?"

"Saw someone?"

"Who?"

He turns around and his eyes focus sharply.

"Noct?"

"I have a stalker," he states, mentally reading the words that have been scratched into the tiling of the wall beside him.

_I am watching you._


	3. Vigilo

Vigilo is Latin for, "to be awake, watch, to be vigilant".

**Chapter Three: Vigilo**

He has been watched his entire life. The eyes of a thriving metropolis and the world outside of it were always keeping a close look at his life and the way he lived it. He was a prince and that came with the territory. So, what was another pair to him? Yet somehow, these last couple months, though he has not seen the Dark man again, he is more vigilant in his dealings than before. More aware of what others could see. He knows that this man did not mean that he was merely observing him in a casual way, but with an intense interest with some unknown agenda in mind. While the press was looking for the next scandal or love affair, this man was watching him for something else. It was that mysterious reason that has had him on edge ever since he had read those ominous words etched into the wall of the trains.

While many things have happened since then, he could not call any of it real progress. Builders were working around the clock in order to get the walls around the Dome completed. Something of which he considered just a superficial thing and not productive, just a little proactive in showing a meager sense of protection from it's effects. It was amazing how easily people can begin to move on when there is a lull in danger. Not two weeks after the last appearance of the Dark Man, the citizens showed their incredible resilience and continued on. Not all, but the majority went about their daily lives before it all happened. While there had been many mourners in the initial week after The Appearance, many were trying to get back to their regular routines. Though, it could never leave anyone's minds when it was visible throughout the entire city. It was a constant reminder of who and what they had lost and he knew that it was only a matter of time before the denial will lead to anger and then demand. It has him waiting on bated breath.

They had not even made any progress in identifying who the Dark man was. Through diligent efforts in looking through the surveillance footage from within the train stations, they came to the quick conclusion that the man had been aware of where each camera was positioned and made sure that there was never a clear shot of him or his intended destination. Several cameras had also conveniently shorted out at the same time he was making his way though. Clearly he had planned this ahead of time. The man must also have taken off his mask when he was weaving through the seas of traveling commuters since none had seemed to think twice about him as he passed. A very clever master at keeping himself under the radar and that is what he has been since, under the radar.

"Noct, there have been more murders," says Ignis grimly. "Preliminary tests conclude that it happened last night. The maid found them this morning."

"Who is it this time?" he asks warily, though he has an inkling already.

"Two more members of the council," is the reply.

"Whoever is doing this clearly has an aim to bring down our government," he states.

A very crude way to go about it, but he has to admit, it was effective. In these times, people were not so quick to step up and try to take over. Not when their predecessors had met with such violent ends.

"People are keeping their panic barely in check as it is. This is going to floor them," states Glad.

"Definitely not gonna be pretty," adds Pro.

"We need to start thinking about possible riot control," advises Glad.

He nods his agreement. These murders had started a month before the appearance of the Tenebrae Dome. Given how shaky people were already, this was not going to help. It was definitely time to start thinking about certain contingencies.

"How did these last two die?" he asks.

"Mysterious circumstances. Just like the others," relays Ignis. "They appear to have been stabbed. No knives at the scene, but the marks left on the bodies… are just weird."

"I want to hear the weird," he says.

"They had been drinking whiskey. Stomach contacts prove that they were," explains Ignis. "There was no whiskey in their glasses but the wounds are drenched… the interior of the founds are drenched with whiskey. Now I'd normally say that the drinks were probably spilled after they fell over from their injuries but there is no way it could seep that deeply into the wounds."

"Come again?" asks Pro.

"Given the smoothness of the entry wounds…," continues Ignis hesitantly. "It looks like they had both been stabbed with whiskey skewers."

"Wicked!" cries Pro, impressed. "You mean to tell me that someone _froze_ the whiskey in their glasses and then stabbed them with it?" His voice had steadily grown higher in pitch until he was almost a squeak at the end. "That's frakkin' awesome! That sounds like something out of a sci fi movie!"

"Of which you have been watching way too much of," drolls Glad. "It's both cool and disturbing at the same time."

"Not to mention impossible," adds Ignis.

"These days, the impossible seems possible," he comments. "Do we know motive?"

"There are plenty of people who would love to see all of the council die," comments Ignis. "So, obviously the list of suspects is... substantial."

"If what the evidence is telling us is the truth, there is someone out there with unimaginable power and they are bent on taking down each member of government," he surmises.

"Sounds like it's the same person who killed your father," reasons Pro.

"My father was not stabbed with a frozen beverage," he says flatly.

"No, but his death was the first and just as mysterious," Glad points out. "Just as inexplicable."

The three of them look hesitantly at him, wary of his reaction.

"My father's killer will pay for what he has done," he states firmly. "In any case, these latest murders have all been different, with different M.O.'s, we cannot say they are the same person."

"Perhaps the same _group _of people then," suggests Ignis.

He looks at his friend sharply but makes no reply.

"I wanna know more about Noct's fanboy," says Pro, effectively changing the subject. "Any idea who he is now?"

"That would be a no," says Ignis on a sigh. It has been a point of frustration of his friend that they had not been able to find him thus far.

"It's been months since we have seen him," reminds Glad. "He's obviously been lying low."

"Which makes me more nervous," states Pro. "We don't know what he's doing while we can't see him."

"Do you think he's a spy from Tenebrea?" asks Glad.

"No," he replies quickly, because he cannot believe for one second that Tenebrae would know of a man such as him. "His presence has something to do directly with the Dome."

A couple days after the last appearance of the Dark Man, another Dome appeared within Tenebrae. Though the destruction to that city was not as catastrophic as in Nihilsomno, it was vast. Their Dome displayed its own variation of powers and had a slightly different look to it. He is not sure what exactly is different, but he can tell that there is one from the many images that had popped onto the news since it happened. While the details that had been shared were vague, it was clear that each Dome was different but still a major threat to everyone. Relations between his country and Tenebrae had been getting better but he knew that his relationship with the Princess would never be the same after the circumstances of their last meeting.

"How do you know he's here for the Dome?" asks Pro.

"I cannot explain why, exactly," he says honestly. "I just know."

"If he's that sneaky, why let you know he's watching in the first place?"

"He was warning me," he replies.

"Like he's going to kill you too, kinda way?"

"If he wanted to hurt Noct, he would have done it already," reasons Ignis.

"Unless he wants to torture him," adds Glad. "Maybe he likes to play before he acts."

"Could be," he says, because in all honesty, that could be it too.

"He must want something," rationalizes Ignis. "The question is what."

_Yes, what does he want?_

"Do you think he's the one behind the murders?" asks Pro.

They all look at him uncomfortably again, but he ignores the looks.

"Since we have been trying to find him and finding no success, we have to simply wait for him to make the first move," he concludes. "All of us knew that it would be impossible to find him in so highly populated a city as we have, anyway. At least we know that he is close by since he has to be in order to watch me."

"Maybe he wants to keep a close eye on you to see what we find out about the Dome," observes Ignis. "You said you believe that he is here because of it, so maybe that is why he's fixated on you... well partly."

"Do you think that maybe there will be more?" asks Glad. "More domes."

"No, I think there will only be two," he replies and he is not sure how he knows that either.

"I still can't believe how girlie Tenebrae's Dome looks," comments Pro.

Somehow, the description seems deadly accurate. There were no other words he could think of to describe it either. Tenebrae's Dome had a decidedly more feminine look to it.

"Almost as if each had its own personality," agrees Ignis.

"Ours is more badass," pronounces Pro. "Theirs looks almost happy looking. At least you can see that ours is sinister."

"And that is a point of pride?" asks Ignis with a shake of his head.

Glad rolls his eyes.

"I have to agree with Noct about there not being anymore," says Ignis. "I have a feeling that these are a pair."

"Meaning...?" asks Pro.

"Meaning that they are connected," he replies, looking between the images of each Dome. "Like Light and Dark."

"Like Heaven and hell. Good and bad," adds in Pro. "Does that mean we're the bad guys?"

"Not we," he says. "Me."

"So, the guy in black, he's like what? Some grim reaper coming after you for justice?"

"More like Black Reaper with that get up he wears," comments Glad.

"That's a good name," agrees Ignis.

"Much better than Dark Man in Black," Pro states in agreement. "You know Noct...not sure what he looks like without his mask and all but, from what we _have_ seen, he could almost be a dead ringer for you."

"Like my very own dopple ganger?"

"Since he seems to know so much, he might also know how to destroy the Dome," points out Pro.

"If he did, would he want to though," poses Ignis.

An alert goes off on the computer and Ignis immediately swirls in his chair and starts typing.

"Wait a minute," Ignis says, typing rapidly and talking fast too. "It seems like the spooked councilmen left alive have been taking added measures in their safety. Security details report a masked man flying out of the eastside mansion."

"Right on!" cries Pro. "It's going to be a fun night."

"How long ago was this?" asks Glad.

"Right now."

"Where was he headed?" he asks, already making his way towards the car with Glad and Pro right behind him.

"He's going eastbound on Main St.," answers Ignis, walking up right beside him.

"Did you say he was _flying_?" asks Pro as they all get into the car. "He sure knows how to travel in style."

Ignis starts the engine and starts gunning it in the appropriate direction. He watches as his friend presses his earpiece closer to his ear for a moment as he maneuvers through the streets.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Observers say there is activity from within the Dome."

"What kind of activity?" asks Glad.

"The sky."

Immediately the Black Reaper's voice sounds in his head.

_The stars have fallen._

"The stars have fallen," he repeats softly.

"What was that?" asks Ignis. "Do you want me to pursue him or do you want me to take us to the Dome Observer site?"

"I think, it is time we made our proper introductions to the Black Reaper," is his reply.


	4. Aggredior

Aggredior is Latin for, "to go to, approach, address, attack".

**Chapter Four: Aggredior**

"This, can_not_ be good," comments pro, as the four of them finally catch sight of the Black Reaper.

"The man's almost like Tarzan," observes Glad with nothing else but approval in his gaze.

"He seems to be very familiar with the layout of this part of the city," comments Ignis, looking a the car's GPS system.

Yes, he had definitely done this before.

"He is leading us directly into the Dome," he observes grimly.

"Do you think he lives there?" asks Pro.

A very interesting question and he thinks it over a moment before dismissing the idea. The Black Reaper seemed to contentiously dress as he did, in costume and under guise. This pointed to the theory that he deliberately hid away his identity so as to blend into the general pubic the rest of the time. Hiding within the confines of the Dome would make such an effort needless. Which makes this man a very formidable foe. Someone who could do that, was not someone to be ignored with or underestimated. That detail alone, has him ascertaining that he was more than an accomplished fighter, but an efficient spy. He can admire a man who had the ability to achieve all of that. He would have to be extraordinarily clever to remain hidden these last few months without detection. Especially with how much they had been trying to find him. These observations, he would keep to himself though. They would only make this man a prime suspect in the death of his father and he would not allow that.

"I don't think he would bother with that get up if he lived there," answers Ignis before he can.

"From the images we've seen, that stuff he's wearing can't be cheap," notes Pro.

"So he's funded by someone," suggests Glad.

"And extremely very well connected," finishes Ignis.

"But he _does_ strike me as kind of a lone gunman. With his own agenda," adds Pro. "Which wouldn't work if he was being funded by someone."

"I still makes him a very big threat," he says.

"Still wanna know what he wants," says Glad.

"Woh! Did you see that?!" cries Pro suddenly while pointing outward.

"What the...?"

Before Glad can finish his exclamation, one of the tall, heavy power line poles tips over and crashes right into their path. It gives Ignis no time to hit the brakes or maneuver away to avoid it causing their car to ram right into it. The four of them barely have enough time to brace for impact before the car is soon filled with the protective bubbles of the airbags. He immediately activates his rune and slashes away the white balloons to free them and they all stumble out together, coughing in fits.

"You guys all right?" coughs Ignis, spitting onto the ground to clear his throat.

"Never better," remarks Pro, with a shake and scratch of his head, causing puffs of white o flitter around him.

"What in Hades?" demands Glad, toward the cause of their collision.

The four of them quickly glance to the point where _something_ had forced the pole to hit the ground. To which they exchange cautious looks when it becomes obvious that the thing was big and not just big, but massive. The solid beam looked like it had been snapped like a small twig. Not a second later the ground trembles with the weight of something large landing on the rooftop of a building just beside them.

Standing there is a creature unlike any he has ever seen, perched there, hissing at them with deadly intent. It bellows at them with a deafening roar of challenge and they all react as one. Swords are drawn and his rune is activated. So intent are they on this threat that they miss the pair of eyes that watches them closely from behind.

"Pro, higher ground. There on top of the crosswalk," he orders calmly, not taking his eyes away from the monster.

"On it," replies Pro with a nod. "Never seen them look like that before." Then he rushes away to set himself up.

"It's like... a mutation," says Glad when the creature lets out another deafening roar.

Ignis, Glad and himself stand their ground when it leaps from the rooftop to land heavily right in front of them on the street. The city lights flicker briefly from it's impact and the eery lights glow a sickening mixture of yellow and green. The creature hisses at them confidently, obviously seeing them as easy prey.

Underestimated.

As he always is.

"Go," he orders and tightens his grip on the hilt of his sword before they begin their assault.

He takes point as he always does. Running forward and taking a flying leap, he slams his blade against the thick skull of the creature, jarring its focus before leaping backwards again to narrowly avoid its thrashing claws. Right after him , Glad and Ignis take their turns in landing strategic blows to different sections of the head to further throw it off balance. They work together like a finely tuned orchestra, in total harmony with the moves of the others and it is not long before the animal realizes its mistake.

"Noct, it's going to bolt," warns Ignis.

"Pro, are you in position?" he asks.

"You betcha."

No sooner has Pro said the words then the beast makes a mad dash away from them and hurtles down the street.

"It's going the wrong way," shouts Glad.

"I'm on it," he says, quickly teleporting in front of the creature, gleaming weapon in hand.

He throws his axe straight towards the side of it's head, where he had delivered his initial blow and the animal predictably swerves to the right in order to evade injury. It roars again when Ignis' saber stabs against its side and it finally runs to where they want it to.

"He is coming to you," he tells Pro before nodding to Ignis and Glad.

Then the three of them are moving in pursuit. He gets to Prompto and the creature first with the use of his powers and waves his arms in a gesture for attention. The thing sees him without a weapon and rushes towards him. Where he expertly leads it to the overhead crosswalk, taking the stairs three at a time. Once he reaches the top, he stops to stare defiantly towards the gruesome being and watches it let out another bellow before it slams its massive claws on either side of his body.

"Is that the best you can do?" he hisses out in challenge before he summons his blade again and throws it towards the creature's face. In a perfect bull's eye, his aim is true and it stabs right into one of its irises. It rears back and screeches in agony, clawing at its face in an attempt to dislodge the blade. He runs towards Pro on the other side of the crosswalk but his eyes remain on target while .

"A little close there, Noct," warns Pro when he passes him to walk down the stairs to reach the ground level to be in front again.

He watches closely as the beast manages to hurl his sword away from its ruined eye and screeches again. It steps right where Pro needs it to and his friend fires without hesitation towards the explosives he has already planted. The corresponding boom and bursting flames engulf their foe and it cries out again in outraged defeat. Pro fires another shot towards the heart, silencing that dreadful sound. It lets out one last choked cry before it crashes down with a crunching thud and causes all manners of dust and debris to scatter around them.

"How many times I gotta tell you to lighten up on the explosives, straw for brains?" demands Glad, stomping to their blonde friend angrily. "You could have gotten yourself and Noct killed with that blast."

"But I didn't!" protests Pro. "Besides, that sucker was _huge_! I needed to make sure that he was going to stay down!"

"What sort of monstrosity is this?" he whispers to himself, heedless to the arguing of his friends behind him and he walks towards the charred body of the _thing_ they have just killed. It was not like the behemoths he has faced before nor like the raptors. He has to agree with Glad. This looked like a mutation.

"Get your head out of your arse and listen to me for once!"

"And be like _you_? Party pooper!"

He wonders where this creature came from and looks around, noticing that they are deep within the vicinity of the Dome. Which must be the reason. The Dome had changed it... So consumed in his musings he is not quick enough to react when the creature's claw swiftly raises to smash him. It would have been successful were it not for the double bladed knife that whizzes past his head and buries itself in the hardened flesh. He can see an electric current travel swiftly through the attached wire like lightning to fry the creature completely. The scorched claw fall away from him and the knife is jerked out and retracted as quickly as it had been throw to returned to its wielder.

He turns around and sees him up close for the first time.

The Black Reaper.

Long black overcoat billowing in the ghostly air with mask donned. He looks just as sinister as he is.

Without thought or hesitation, he summons his broadsword and hurls it towards the Black Reaper and watches the other man expertly work his wire around it in mid air to thrust it aside. The white mask peers back at him at an angle with a silent question.

_Is that all?_

"Do_ not _interfere," he orders his friends_._

Then the double bladed knife is flying towards his own head but he blocks it easily with his armory shield. The knife is not even completely deflected before another wire shoots right through his shield and latches onto his right hand. His quick reflexes have him tightening it around his wrist and pulling the wire taunt by twisting his body while simultaneously recalling his sword and severs the wire before he too can be electrocuted just as the fallen beast had been. He has just completed his turn when he sees the rapid approach of the Black Reaper with another double bladed dagger at the ready. His sword is up just in time to deflect the blow but he staggers back from the momentum. He does not take too long recover before takes his own swing and metal clashes against metal as they engage.

"What do you want?" he demands through a hiss while they parry back and forth.

"Not the right question," is the reply.

They push away from each other.

"Be careful making wishes while you're in here," warns the Black Reaper. "There are prices to pay for the wishes you share."

"What does that mean?" he demands again.

"Be careful what you wish for," the man warns again. Then his head turns to his friends. "Be careful what you _all_ wish for while you're in here."

"I want answers from you," he orders, bounding forward with his sword in a downward stroke.

"Noctis!"

The cry has him skidding to a halt mid stride to whirl around at the sound of that familiar feminine voice.

To see nothing there.

He looks at his friends and they look back at him just as confounded. They had heard her too. They had heard _Stella_. Stella's voice call out his name, but Stella was not there.

The four of them turn to the Black Reaper to find that he too is not there.

"Okay, what the _frak_ is going on here!?"

* * *

Author's Note: To my Anon reviewer, who wanted to know whether Stella was going to be in this fic... yes, she most certainly is. It just would not be the same without Stella. :)


	5. Cupio

Cupio is Latin for, "to desire, wish, long for".

_**Chapter Five: Cupio**_

Some men dream dreams of fancy. Some men dream the stuff of nightmares. Some dream in color. Some dream in only black and white. They say that dreams are the true wishes of the heart. He does not think he has heard anything that sounded less like rubbish than that. That he would wish for all this to have really happened would make him beyond morbid to the extreme. More so than he already believed he was. He cannot think of anything we could have wished for less, than what has happened since he woke up from that vision. Dreams, he thinks, can mean anything and nothing when you dream them in slumber. The dangerous ones are those that one has when we are not asleep, but fully awake. The daydreams that one's mind conjures up during the waking hours. The very ones that he does not allow himself to have, but sometimes creep up on him nonetheless. Those are the ones that he thinks have more merit. For they are the ones your conscious mind concocts. Which makes him wonder what the Black Reaper dreams. What his wishes are. Like those wishes that he warned him not to have while in the Dome. He will not think about why it was that it was Stella's voice that called to him in that dark place either. He will only allow himself to wonder if he refused to think of someone too. If he was anything like him, he probably did have someone he thought of even when he tried desperately not to.

He has been called cold. He has been called conceited. Sometimes he is spoiled and sometimes he is merely aloof. People saw a stoic face and figured he was all those things. That his skin must be too thick to penetrate and he was too arrogant for his own good. All because they saw a face devoid of feeling. He had to be devoid because he had none, they reasoned. He knows this because he has heard them. Which is another thing that he finds ridiculous. They could not know how much it cost him to appear so unaffected. How much it cost him to keep his face so blank when all he wanted to do was react. From experience, he can say that it is the one that has such a face that feels the most. They are the ones that have the most to lose. Because it means that they did not have the freedom to _show_ it.

He wore a mask every day. Whenever he stepped out of his door, he made sure that it was securely in place. A mask that no one but his friends could see behind. A blank mask that hide just how vulnerable he truly was. It was a shield to hide the wealth and depth of feelings that he could not afford to express. It is not always hard to do it and it is sometimes easier to do. Which brings his thoughts back to the Black Reaper. The mask is just like his, only an actual, physical thing to hide what he knew must be a deeply emotional man. He cannot fault him for wearing one. It added to just how many ways they were alike and he finds he wants to know more about this man. This man that seems to have decided to keep watch over him.

That night, when he had finally been confronted with him in the Dome, Tenebrae tried to destroy theirs. He does not know exactly what happened that night. The people involved had all perished in the resulting explosion that decimated the entire city. Though there were no visible signs of the Dome, life close to the limits of that once beautiful city was impossible. What is left is a hole as big as the one in his heart where it should have been. A gaping void where something vibrant had once taken residence. One that could never be filled now that she was gone. When he was told of this news the following day, it had taken all of his training to keep the mask in place. Tenebrae was gone. It's citizens gone with it. She was gone with it. There were no survivors accounted for. A millions faces that vanished and everything to remember them too, gone in an instant and all he could see was hers. He thought of how he had doomed her. The regret and guilt that struck his chest and squeezed the breath from his lungs is a pain he relives every time he thinks about it. A wound that he knows will never heal. That night, a part of him that no one had ever had access to before, died and it took all that he had to keep stepping forward with his mask in place.

That night was a month ago now. The strangeness has not abated, but as it always does, time does not wait. More murders were taking place. Just yesterday, another key member of the council was found murdered while eating his dinner. How the assailant managed to get inside his well fortified home was as mysterious as the cause of his death. Every bone in his body was crushed, with no logical explanation of how they could have gotten to be that way. At first they had wondered if the body was merely placed where it was found, but that was quickly tossed out when the whereabouts of each of the surviving councilmen was diligently monitored and followed. There was no way to explain how the remains looked like a rubber body suit instead of the solid body of a man.

It was not just the murders that were strange either. Things were happening around the city that could not be explained either. He has heard whispers of people who had changed. Not physically changed, but somehow altered from what they had been. For the last couple of weeks, he has also felt eyes around him too. Eyes that followed him and watching him closely. A different sort of eyes that he felt he could not hide from no matter where he was. At first he had thought that it was the Black Reaper, but he had never actually felt the other man's eyes upon him like a physical present before. This was different. His eyes saw what his brain could not fathom and he decided he needed help.

"Okay, so why are we here?" asks Pro breathing the cold air so deeply that his breathes were like clouds escaping his lips.

"To prove whether I am crazy or not," is his simple answer.

"Aaww, Noct," says Pro with one of his coy grins. "We already know you're crazy."

"Fair enough," he concedes with a chuckle. "This is a new degree of insanity."

"Right, so what are we looking for?" asks Ignis, ever the one to get to the point.

"A new level of crazy," mutters Glad, rubbing his chin. "That might be fun."

"It's not as if we haven't been hearing some crazy stuff already these days," reasons Pro. "How long are we waiting for results? And did we have to meet in this dingy lookin' place?"

"Stop being a princess," retorts Glad with a roll of his eyes.

"Hey, I am all for secret meetings but could we.. what the fiery Etro is that?!" cries Pro, swinging his rifle around to shoot.

"So I am not the only one insane here," he says with another chuckle, walking cautiously towards the ghostly, green silhouette hovering by a broken pane of glass near the far wall.

The ghostly presence seems to stare at them a moment before it winked out of sight without a trace.

"Fascinating," murmurs Ignis, who has his phone's camera pointed at where the ghost had been. "It doesn't come out in pictures."

"Huh? Now what does that mean?"

"What is that thing, Noct?" asks Ignis.

"I have not the faintest idea," he answers. "I was more concerned about whether or not I was really losing my mind by imagining that it has been following me around lately."

"It follows you?" asks Pro scandalously. "Like what, a dog?"

"I feel it peer at me on occasion," he explains. "It feels almost constant now."

"So you really did think you were going crazy," observes Glad.

"Would not have been a surprise," he shrugs. "I have tried to check surveillance and come up empty so that was the logical conclusion."

"Do you think the Black Reaper is behind it?" asks Glad.

"That would mean I had a doll," states a deep, low voice from behind them.

His three friends instantly unsheathe their weapons as they whirl around to face the dark man, but he remains unarmed when he slowly turns around.

"Will I finally get answers now?" he asks.

"What's a doll?" asks Ignis, curious despite his wariness.

"They are the ones who control the observer spirits, as you just saw." Though his eyes are hidden by the blank mask, he can sense that those dark eyes are looking at each of them closely. "The four of you did see it, right?"

"Yeah…" answers Pro carefully.

"Got a name?" asks Glad.

"Odd," the Black Reaper murmurs to himself.

"What are you talking about?"

"Those that can see the Observer Spirits are Contractors and Contractors do not have emotions," those painted eyes stare at the almost comical expression on Pro's face before he continues. "Which you seem to have an abundance of."

"How do you know so much?" he asks.

"My world experienced the same thing. Two gates appeared at opposite ends of the world. We called them Heaven's Gate and Hell's Gate." He pauses to think of his next words. "Though there are elements here that have obviously changed how they work."

"What do you mean by elements?" asks Ignis.

"You have magic here," is the reply. "Crystals and powers that are not unlike Contractors."

"Um, not sure I get it," states Pro.

"You will. You'll have to and you're out of time to try and figure it out."

"Is that why you're here? Are you here to destroy the Dome?"

"You don't want to destroy the… Dome."

"It's a threat. It needs to be destroyed."

"That would make your Crystal a similar threat, but I don't see you trying to destroy that."

"So you're saying that the Dome is a point of power?" asks Ignis.

Silence meets his question in answer.

"For whom?" he asks.

"I think you already know the answer to that."

He supposes he suspected, but never would he have imagined it to be real.

"Are you behind the murders?" asks Glad straight out.

"No," is the immediate reply. "I was chasing the one I thought was behind it but I lost him when that thing appeared."

"You mean the Behemoth," says Ignis.

"If that's what you call that monster."

"What kinds of abilities can they have?"

"Anything you can think of."

"So this is why the murders all don't make sense," ponders Ignis. "It means that not all Contractors possess the same ability."

"Yes."

"You mentioned seeing these Observer Spirits only if one were Contractors. Does that mean that not everyone is a Contractor?"

"Not everyone is chosen, but those who are, are cursed with it. Just like those who can see the Light also have them."

"You said there was a difference," he reminds him.

"Contractors all have a price they must pay for using their powers. You here who use the Crystal do not seem to have that."

They did pay a price, but it was not what he implies.

"What sort of price?"

"Depends on the individual. Everyone pays a unique price."

"Because gifts and wishes do not come for free," he says, with no small amount of disdain. He looks up to see that emotionless mask peering at him carefully… almost _knowingly_. "You know that from experience, don't you. You made a wish and you are now paying a price."

"Aren't we all?"

"So what do you want us to do?" asks Ignis. "What have you been waiting for?"

"I haven't found it yet."

"That means that you don't know what it is," Pro points out.

"You did something to make all this happen," is the reply. "Just like I had a hand in it too."

"Wah?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you did," answers the Black Reaper.

"Are you sure it wasn't your presence?"

"I am here because the gates came here. They brought me here and I think they're here because of you." He points at him.

"So this is my fault."

"And mine."

"Wait, how can it be Noct's fault? It's not like someone can summon something as power as the Domes," argues Ignis.

"Are you sure about that?"

"It's not any summons that I have ever known…"

"If the Domes came for me, why is nothing happening to me?" he interrupts Ignis.

The mask tilts to the side to look at him. "I think it has. I think you just haven't noticed it yet. Or maybe… you don't _want_ to notice."

"Noct, there's been another murder," Ignis cuts in while pressing his earpiece closer to his ear.

"So I guess that's proof that you're really not the killer," states Pro.

"I have no reason to lie."

"I have more questions," he states as he motions the others to get back into their car.

"I don't have all your answers. But I think you know more than you're telling."

"I could say the same to you," he retorts. "Does this mean that you will help us?"

"As much as I can."

"Then, I suppose you should come with us."

"Too late for that. Whoever is behind this has already gone. Though you have to consider that it's in your best interests that they succeed."

"I have."

"It explains why you have not been targeted."

He nods his agreement and moves to turn away.

"You can't have both."

"What?" he stops to peer behind his shoulder.

"The things you desire cannot both be attained. You have to drop one."

"I already did."

"If you did, you wouldn't be so conflicted."

"It is a moot point."

"Is it?"

"She's dead," he says flatly. A note of finality in his tone before he walks away.


	6. Percutio

Percutio is Latin for, "to strike hard, pierce, transfix or shock".

_**Chapter Six: Percutio**_

"So that is all. After all of this, you will end it just like that."

"We both knew that we were not a good match," he reasons, not at all kindly. "We were never supposed to feel anything for each other."

"But we do."

"_You_ do."

"And you do not?"

"You make me feel uncomfortable," is his cool reply.

"Uncomfortable," she repeats softly, her disbelief evident.

"You come into my life with your candor and unwanted feelings and you now have begun to project your own feelings of infatuation for my own," he stops to shake his head for emphasis. "What you think we had was something your own imagination developed. Not something that is real."

"Just tell me the real reason you are doing this," she challenges, not angrily, like he had counted on, but sadly. Her reluctant acceptance for what he has obviously decided, but that does not mean that she concedes readily. "Tell me that I scare you and that you are too afraid to stay and fight for us. Do not try to tell me that I have imagined your feelings for me because we both know that is untrue."

"Have I ever confessed to having any of these feelings?"

"You did not have to."

"I have already stated that you making me uncomfortable. You are doing it very marvelously now."

Those violent eyes that never hide anything did not fail to tell him all that she feels at that moment. So he can see the hurt, the disappointment and the underlying understanding that shines from their depths. An understanding that scares him. He sees a person that cares for him despite having no reason to. A person who had more to lose than gain by loving him and loved him regardless. Her. This ray of light in his world of dark and he knows that he would do anything to make sure that light would never succumb to the darkness that shrouded everything that he touched. Even if that meant breaking both their hearts in the process. Even when it made him the coward. Even when it made him the villain.

"You will not fight for us," she says, seeing the resolve on his features. She stared at him beseechingly, but finds his mask fall firmly in place. "Will you fight for anything?"

"I am fighting all the time."

"The wrong battles," she says with a shake of her head. "You know you are the villain and you support for what you should not."  
"That is a matter of opinion."

"That was your opinion before."

"You say this because it is not for you that I fight for. Something you so desperately want but know that I will not."

"Not just for us," she says, stepping closer to him and it takes all that he is not to flinch. "But for yourself. You fight for a side you do not believe in just so you can avoid conflict. You do not really fight for anything at all."

"I _do_ believe in it."

"You lie."

"It is just you blinding yourself from the truth of what I am again. You are romanticizing me into a hero which is not logical and grossly inaccurate."

"I wish I could be as unfeeling as you try to pretend you are," she remarks with that same grieving sadness. There is that rare genuineness of feeling that is still so foreign for him to witness so openly on her face. "I wish I could turn off my emotions and hide. But unlike you, I do not have the skill to suppress how deeply I feel."

"Like me?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, like you," she repeats with another sad smile. "I hope that one day you will be able to be free. Free from all that you have to hide from. To be who you _really_ are."

Her statement so stuns him that he does not know how to respond. He cannot even think of a lie because all she has said is the truth. He just cannot explain how she knows so much. How could she know him so well when he tried to hard for her not to? Before he can even try, she places a hand on his cheek and places a soft kiss upon his lips. A soft touch that says good bye and he feels it pierce him.

"Hopefully that day will not be when the world has fallen apart."

The soft melody of her tone and the taste of her lips are like a torment when he opens his eyes from this dream. Her sweet voice echoes in his head like a steady conscience that heightens his guilt. He hates these quiet moments of weakness. The ones that make him remember when he does so much to forget that last encounter with her. Knowing that those would be the last words he would ever exchange with her. The one who had loved him. An impossibility that he had never even dared to wish for. Would he have been her last thought in those final moments before her city was lost? Had his callous words to put her off made her last moments those of bitter disappointment? Were her last thoughts the knowledge that a part of him would die along with her?

Throwing off his comforter, he steps off his bed and moves to stand in front of his many windows to stare out into the cityscape. His city at night, always beautiful in his eyes, though marred by the presence of the Dome. The city and people that would soon be looking to him as sole leader if the murders continued. Another situation that weighed heavily on his mind. New conspiracy theories centered around him being the mastermind behind this strategic method of gaining complete power of the government. He does not completely consider that a bad thing and as long as no one tried to challenge his authority, he would let them continue to think that he was.

_Will you fight for anything?_

He shudders at the voice in his head. Hearing those words, in that mourning tone of hers from that last encounter make him back away from the window and move towards the fireplace. The deep rich tones of the flames remind him of her vibrant spirit. Bright, brilliant and beautiful as it consumed the darkness. He reminds himself that he had done what he had to in order to keep it alive. No matter that it had died anyway. The regret of that once dazzling light could cave him within himself if he let it.

"What would you say to me now, Stella?" he asks aloud, turning to eye the Dome from across his bedroom. "When I am more the villain now."

He lets out a long sigh and knows no more sleep will be had this night. Angrily, he makes his way to the closet and dresses quickly. There is nothing else for it. Methodically, he climbs his way to the top of the highest tower of the castle and steadily goes on his way. Teleporting from rooftop to rooftop across the city he alternates in his exercise to keep his mind from straying from anything but his next move. With each teleport, he practices rolling and running, leaping and lunging to push his body until he can push all those thoughts of her away again. He does not stop when he begins to feel tired. He only pushes himself harder until all he can feel is the burn and it blocks everything else out. Muscles straining and legs pumping, he has built up a good sweat before he finally comes to a rest in a residential street. Quick steady pants form a white cloud in front of him while he catches his breath. Hands on hips, he looks up to watch the stars glimmer through the night sky with the beacon of light shining down from the heavens and his mind is finally at ease.

"Do you come here often?" he asks before turning to look at the dark man already lounging a few feet away.

"When I have to," is the amused reply, but his gaze remains fixed upon the sky.

His own eyes make a quick glance at the mansion across from them before he settles down not far from his would be companion.

"Do the stars look different from where you are from?"

"Yes," is the somewhat quick reply. "When the gates appeared, our stars disappeared."

"A blank night sky?" he asks, remembering the vision of that first dream.

"They were replaced."

"Replaced?"

"The stars we saw at night each represented the life of a Contractor. It made the effort of keeping track of us easier by the government and anyone who employed us." He watches the other man let out a long breath while he continued to look up. "I used to gaze up at them, even knowing that they were fake, foolishly hoping that one day I might see them again." The mask turns to look at him a moment before turning back to the stars. "Your stars are the ones I have missed for a very long time."

"Yet another thing that is different from your world. Our stars did not change."

"A welcome change."

"In an otherwise unwelcome place."

"I've never actually been welcome anywhere," is the steady reply. "People don't take kindly to murderers, no matter what wold you find yourself."

"And that is what you are. A murderer?"

"Yes."

"I would say that it all depends," he points out after a moment.

"On what?"

"Did you take pleasure in the killing?"

"Does that really matter? I was not given much of a choice in most cases, but in others, I did revel in it."

"Condemnation will always be there, but maybe, some day, someone will understand why it had to happen."

He feels a shift in the air at the same time the man beside him stiffens in alarm.

"It's happening," the Black Reaper states just before jumping to his feet and leaping off the edge of the building without waiting for a response. He watches him thrown a wire from his belt and swing down to the street.

They both reach the bottom at the same time and race toward the safe house that had been hiding one of the last councilmen inside. Which, he has a quick moment to realize, was a laughable effort all around. Their enemy obviously knew their secrets and their attempts to keep them a failure.

"Reinforced door and bullet proof glass. The house is heavily protected. How did they get in?"

"Contractors are capable of anything."

An explosion rocks the building, causing the windows to blast outward towards them. He quickly pulls up his shield just in time to block the aforementioned armored door from smashing into them.

"He must have been in the panic room," he explains quickly, making a run towards the blaze but is halted by a hand gripping his arm tightly. He is about to jerk out of its grasp and demand an explanation when a secondary explosion bursts through the house. His eyes flash from red to blue for a moment in confusion that the other man had anticipated this.

"Two blasts to make sure," is the strange explanation before he is let go and they both race into the burning house.

The parts not destroyed by the blasts and being devoured in flames is flooding by the automatic sprinkler system set up within the structure of the house. The water pelts down on them in steamy gushes while the flames retreat under the pressure of it.

"Where is the panic room?"

"Bottom level. Basement," he shouts over the noise, while they maneuver around chunks of ceiling and move towards the back of the house.

The basement entrance is located by the kitchen, not far from a group of large already shattered windows and it is once they reach is that he feels that strange, inexplicable shift in the atmosphere again. Then the sudden drop in temperature, but before he can begin to fully process what this could mean, a hand grabs him gruffly by the collar and is propelled outside one of the empty window frames to land unceremoniously on the grassy backyard. He looks back towards the house in time to see the flames completely dissolve into ice.

"What... the...?" he begins to ask when he notices the figure beside him is frozen in a posture of stunned shock. He looks to where the mask is faced and then he too can only stare in stunned surprise at what he sees. Something he should not be seeing. For standing there, is a ghost from the dead and beside her stands a pale haired female with no expression on her petite face.

Body still locked in shock, he can only move his lips to form one word.

"Stella?"


	7. Donec Opportunus Item

Donec Opportunus Item is Latin for, "Until we meet again".

_**Chapter Seven: Donec Opportunus Item**_

"_One day, when we meet again, I hope you remember that it was you who were responsible for this."_

"_This?"_

"_This path that you have set for yourself," she explained. "The path that we could have walked together, but you have separated. I just wish... I wish I could hate you for it. I wish I could be angry, but... I do not think I could."_

She _should_ hate him.

She had every right to.

He always thought so. That had been the plan.

Alas, how much he had regretted treating her thus, but what choice had he had at the time? Dealing with the knowledge of her death has left him with such a void inside himself. Now, to see her alive. Alive and there when he has been trying so diligently to suppress how much her absence in this world had effected him. Seeing her now, still beautiful and still breathing, was like having the breath sucked from his lungs and his heart bursting anew. A foreign warmth that he does not feel in anything else in his life spreads inside him.

He remembers what he felt when he first saw her. That night when he had felt compelled to follow this woman up those stairs and stare at her. He had never felt such a compulsion before. He did not have to approach anyone but, he followed her. That night, at that party, ihis life had taken an unexpected turn. Through the crush of people, he had only caught glimpses of her and it is the fact that he had been the one following should have warned him. When he finally stood close enough to her there in front of Etro's portrait and seen that radiant smile on her face, his world had spun out off its axis. A smile that was real and bright and different from any he had received before. He had known in that moment, that she would mar him and he had not known what to do. He know not what now either.

Everyone had their secrets. He had known she carried her own too, but he always knew what she had been feeling. At any given moment, her face gave away everything and did she never bothered to hide them either. So open and so readable that it was strange for him not to have to read between the lines when speaking with her. It had been as new an experience as the feelings that she garnered inside of him. Which, were many. All of them conflicted. All of them strong.

Now, he cannot see any emotion at all as she returns his undoubtedly shocked gaze. A blank palette where color should be. It looked unnatural on her face. As if, it was a different person instead of the Stella that he knew. Coupled with the equally blank expression on her companion's face, he wonders if perhaps he were in an alternate dimension all together.

"Hei," says the shorter female beside Stella.

He looks between her and his companion and sees that the mask is gone and he can see the other man's face. A face that was anything but blank.

"Yin," Hei says back in response and his look is so anguished, it is hard to look at.

A stillness shrouds over them, like they are trapped within an invisible bubble of shock. Distantly, he can hear the trickle of water from the sprinkler system, spraying them like droplets of rain. The sounds of the water the only thing able to encroach on this moment. Nobody moves. Nobody speaks lest they break this fragile moment.

Looking at this Yin, he notices that though the young woman's face displays no visible emotion, he can sense a wealth of feeling emanating from her. It's impact just as hard to witness as the man's look beside him. She does not even appear to be looking at them but he senses that she can, only not from her physical eyes. How he knows this for sure, he cannot say. He has had a lot of experience watching the subtle nuances of people over the year that he does not doubt his instincts in this. There is a vagueness in her eyes that suggests that she may be blind, so he can ascertain that her ability must help her to see through a different means. One thing is blatantly apparent and that is, all these deeply entrenched emotions mean that this young woman and the Black Reaper had a deep history.

An unresolved history at that.

He can think of all that in length later, but right now he can only focus on _her_. His eyes do not leave hers as he slowly moves to stand on his feet. The rapid beating of his heart rushes to his ears and finds he does not know what to say.

"Stella?" he asks in a low whisper, still afraid to break this short moment of frailty and cause her to disappear. When he moves to approach, her rune flares to life, making him take a step back.

"Prince Noctis," she replies with a small nod of acknowledgement and he can see a vague curiosity in her gaze only.

He could have accepted that formality had it not been for the vague expression on her face. Vague, because he did not see any feeling behind her eyes. Not quite as blank like the young women beside her, but shuttered. Shuttered in a way that Stella's face could never be. It told him that he meant nothing to her. Something he could not accept when he knows he did. This is not arrogance. This is simple truth because they both meant much to the other and no matter how much time had passed, it would always be there between them.

"Yin!" cries Hei again, this time he rushes forward to the pale haired female.

"Stay back!" warns Stella, unsheathing her rapier and stepping in front of her companion.

Then it is his turn to grab the sleeve of his companion to stop his advancement.

"No Hei," warns Yin with a slow shake of her heard.

"Why?" Hei demands roughly.

"Stella, what is going on?" he asks, turning his attention back to his own.

She blinks at him in what seems to be surprise. Surprise is what he cannot fathom.

He is frowning at her in disbelief when there is another shift in the air and all of a sudden, his feet are frozen in place. Literally frozen in place and it does not stop there. Not only are they held immobile, the ice reaches up and up until he is encased within the icy trap to his waist and he cannot move his lower body at all.

"No! Yin!" cries Hei from beside him and he looks to see that the other man is frozen in a similar fashion.

They exchange looks before turning to find Stella and Yin are gone.

"What the...?"

"I could have frozen you solid," a matter of fact voice says from behind them.

Since they cannot turn, they both listen to the crunching sounds of footsteps on wet grass until a familiar blonde haired man steps into view.

"_You_," he hisses disdainfully.

Niveus.

Alive.

Also alive.

"Me," is the amused reply.

"I should have known you were behind this."

"Only you thought you had killed me," Niveus replies with a tsking sound of reproof.

"I can always rectify that," he growls, summing his broadsword.

"Now, now..."

Then he feels the ice creep up to his hands, making him drop the sword.

"Why such hostility?" Niveus mocks, eyeing his frozen half and raising a challenging eyebrow. "When I have been in the process of giving you a gift."

"What are...?" he stops to think it over. "You are considering these murders _gifts_?"

He only receives a smirk in return before his rival glances over at Hei curiously.

"Very curious," Niveus comments to himself, before turning his amused eyes back to him. "We are adding more players to the game."

He manages to scowl at him through his chattering teeth, trying to disregard the cold seeping into his body quickly.

"And I do so like our games," Niveus continues with a smile. "But I think that is enough of this round. Seeing as you are otherwise engaged at present." He gives him and Hei an amused look. "Tell the boys I said hello."

A shot rings through the air, halting Niveus from his retreat.

"Hello yourself," Ignis says with no small bit of condescension., with Glad and Pro directly behind him.

"Was wondering where you boys were," states Niveus, with a grin."But you are late to the party this time, I am afraid." With a flourish of his hand, all the water around them freezes, creating a small prison of ice around them and cutting off their pursuit.

"Noct!" yells Glad, who comes running towards them to search for any injuries.

"I am fine. Just stuck," he bites out through his shivers.

"Since when does that loon know how to do _that_?" demands Pro.

An explosion of ice beside him halts any response he may have had and they all turn to stare at Hei who is no longer stuck in ice.

"Stand back," is their only warning before a gloved hand touches the ice at his feet and a series of much less dramatic explosions frees him.

They exchange another look before turning to the wall of ice around them.

"Well he always did have a flare for the dramatic," remarks Ignis dryly, tapping at the solid wall experimentally.

"Thought he was dead," says Glad gruffly.

"You gonna tell us your name now?" Pro asks, looking at the man beside him.

"Hei."

"You know that pale young woman beside Stella," he says, which garners a nods in answer. "What do we need to know?"

"Right now we need to know what they did in that house," is the clipped reply. "Who Yin is, can wait."

"I would like to know right now, what she means to you," he presses in a cool demand.

Hei gives him a very long look and without the mask, he sees a man that was very much like himself; complicated and multifaceted. Not only were there emotions involved, the feelings ran very deeply.

"The same as Stella means to you," is the knowing reply and it is his turn to nod.

That was that.

Now it was on to the next business at hand.

"Can you do your trick thingy so we can get outta here?" Pro asks Hei.

Without a word, Hei puts his hand against the barrier of white and it crumbles in large chunks at their feet.

"How do you _do_ that?" Pro asks through an open mouth.

"I manipulated the molecules and made them implode."

"You can _do_ that?" this time from Ignis, who not only looks impressed, he has that look on his face that meant he was going to have a new project to research.

"Not all the time," Hei replies seriously. "Mostly I can conduct electricity."

"That is so totally awesome!" cries Pro.

A mild shrug is the only reply, which Pro takes as more awesome if the look of admiration is anything to go by.

"And what is your price for being able to do that?" he asks.

That earns him a sharp look before Hei replies. "I lost my sister."

Without waiting for them to respond, Hei moves back towards the house and they move to follow.

"It looks like a snow globe in here," comments Pro as they cautiously make their way towards the basement stairs and down to the panic room.

What is left of the door is now scattered everywhere in the small entry way area.

"First explosion set off the emergency sprinklers," explains Hei. "The second explosion was to shatter the door when he froze it solid with the resulting water."

"But how could you have know in advance?" he asks, thinking of how he had stopped him from rushing in when it was all happening.

"When dealing with people who can do _anything_ and you don't know what that is going in, you learn not to rush into a situation without waiting a second," Hei says with firm warning. "That is the _only_ time you hesitate. Once engaged, you kill them as fast as you can or get out of the way or you're dead."

They all nod respectively in answer before making their way into the panic room to find the once well organized panic room in chaotic array of blinking alert lights and debris with only one thing fully intact. The council man. The man's face is frozen in terror, along with the rest of his body. A solid statue of ice like a demented piece of art, both disturbing and morbidly elegant.

"He was the last one, wasn't he," Hei states, already knowing that it was.

"Which means that there is no one to stand in the way of Noct taking power."

"Unless the people think him responsible and they revolt," says Ignis.

Which they all knew has already been widely speculated about.

"I cannot take power," he says.

"Why not?"

"My father did not want a successor. He left power to his council."

"That doesn't apply anymore. They're all dead and you're still the prince," states Glad.

"Which will cause a revolt from the people when they find out."

"No doubt that is Niveus' plan. To expose that," he says.

"So he wants the people to revolt against you and with no working government, the nation will be reduced to marshall law," Glad puts in.

"Which would be the perfect time for Niveus to force himself in," adds Ignis.

"Especially with Stella by his side."


	8. Cogitationis

Cogitationis is Latin for, "meditation/thinking/reflection."

_**Chapter Eight: Cogitationis**_

"It is not easy being born into royalty is it?" she asked listelessly, whilst sitting beside him as she had quickly become accustomed to.

A physical closeness that always made him feel more uneasy in her presence. It always put him off balance to have her close to him.

"In what way?" he managed to ask back without giving away how much her physical proximity effected him. There were a great many things that made their lives difficult. It had been interesting to see which she choose to mention.

"We are supposed to be the ones that make decisions, but there are even more that are made for us. We cannot go against them and we have to accept them without argument. The people always complain about their own freedoms but, we are not really free either," she explained. "At least the people can rebel. They can choose. We must suffer in silent acceptance and to act any different would bring scorn."

"What is that you wish you could fight against?"

"My betrothal."

The swift reply bears witness to just how much it has been on her mind.

"From the look on your face, I can tell it does not bother you so much," she said almost sadly.

"Arranged marriages have their advantages and their disadvantages," he answered neutrally. "I never had such an arrangement so I cannot guess what your feelings are on the matter."

"I suppose it is a little different from a man's point of view. You can always choose your mistress if not your wife."

"One woman is trouble enough for me," was his firm response.

She surprised him by giggling. Though, to be honest, there a great many things that surprised him about her. HE had not been able to properly read her. Another thing he had found unsettling.

"That is a woman. Nothing but trouble."

"I prefer the honesty of a marriage rather than the fantasy of a seasoned mistress. We are constantly surrounded by people who hide behind smiles and flattering words. I do not need my ears tickled or my manhood inflated by someone who would be so close to my person."

"That does not sound very romantic."

"I am not a poet, novelist or any such fanciful man. I am a prince and in order to lead my people properly, I need to have my feet on the ground and not floating in the clouds."

"Sounds very rational."

"Yet you do not agree with it."

"Of course not. I am a woman and we like fanciful on occasion."

"Then I hope that your fiancé is such a man."

Her look turned defeated again. "He only sees me as an advantage. An opportunity for future gain and nothing more. That does not seem fanciful or has room for romance, does it?"

He glanced at her carefully, noting how sadly resigned her eyes look and a feeling akin to anger swells up inside him for her sake. How such a lovely and vivacious creature could be given away to someone who would not appreciate it, he cannot fathom. How she could be given to someone who would probably crush that spirit as he crushed her heart seemed very wrong. He had already foreseen all of that in that moment and the anger grew. The anger still grows thinking back on it now. As cold as he was too, he would have appreciated someone as brilliant as Stella. He would never have allowed himself to destroy her spirit. It was why he did what he did to her later. No matter how much it had pained him to do so.

"Perhaps you are wrong," he said in an attempt to give her some encouragement. He fails lousily because he does not believe his own suggestion. Though she smiled at him just the same and a strange twinge in his chest had been the result.

"Have you ever thought to defy them?"

All the time, he thought, but he did not dare voice that.

"I think the key to success is to wait for the perfect opportunity. One just has to be patient."

"Sounds devious."

"War is not for the faint of heart."

"And you plan to fight one?"

"I have to. We are already on the verge of it now."

"We are on opposing sides of it as you well know," she pointed out.

"Are you here to kill me, Princess Stella?" he asked outright.

"No," she replied and as always, he could see the truth in her eyes. "I am here to observe. As your Father's party is currently in my country to observe."

"A farce to say that we at least tried to end things amiably," he said baldly and he could not help but let his disapproval leak into his statement. "Then the real fighting will start."

"We can end things amiably."

"This will be another fruitless conversation," he replied with a shake of his head.

"Because I am a woman?" she asked but not in that typical defensive fashion that always quickly became tedious. She had merely been trying to understand his logic.

"Because you are fooled and think that all people can be reasoned with," he answered because that was the plain honest truth. Male or female did not matter. "Some people cannot be changed when they have conviction. It is a waste of breath to try."

"So fighting is the only option? You would not even try to talk it out?"

"Talking will only delay the inevitable. I would much rather face off with my enemy in a decisive battle than sit around and pretend to be civil with useless posturing."

"There is no fighting someone that is already dead, is that right?" she asked with an amused smile.

A shrug was his only response to that.

"Death is such a waste of life."

"Then they should not have used it by courting it," he countered.

"Are you afraid to die?"

"No," he answered. "As long as I know I am dying for something that I believe."

"And you believe in all of this?" she asked.

He smirked at her before replying. "Did you not just tell me about how rebelling royals are disdained?"

She gave him a shrew look before shaking her head while breaking out into a laugh and he can remember thinking that he was in trouble of falling in love with an already promised woman.

He opens his eyes to the present, realizing that morning has already broken the comforting darkness of night. The rising sun's rays are reaching out and stretching towards the shadows until there will only be light once again. It always makes him want to retreat. While he sits here like he has no care in the world, he feels the weight of it upon his shoulders. He needs to think about what his next move will be. He needs to figure out a successful strategy, but all he can think about are all the memories of times past that he has tried to forget. Those precious times with Stella.

"I suppose we all have our tale of woe," he says, turning to the man beside him for the first time since settling down here upon the rooftop of the castle. He cannot tell how long they have been silently sitting on the ledge as they have, but the broken silence seems fitting with the disturbance of the sun.

"You mean not much luck when it comes to women," is the dry response.

"You said Yin meant to you what Stella means to me."

"More than you will ever admit, not even to yourself," is the very accurate observation.

"Speaking from experience."

"I've lost a lot in my life," Hei states, returning his stare baldly. "I've done things I'm not proud of and I've saved my world twice."

"But you could never get the girl."

"I had her," is the quiet reply and his face is a mirror of anger and regret. "It was not meant to be, I guess."

"Even though she is now in this world the same as you," he points out. "Have you seen anyone else besides her that are from where you are?"

"No," is the curt response. "I thought it was because I was meant to be alone. Seeing her last night with that guy, behind all of this. Neck deep in all that's going on..." he shakes his head angrily. "I knew better and I still..."

"Was it like that in your world? Were you on opposing sides?"

Another head shake but he wants for the story to come.

"We were partners in a small group working for an organization called, The Syndicate. Yin was my Doll and could see anywhere that had water nearby. She was minimally programed by our superiors to have the lowest amount of emotion and personality. She was only given the mind for basic necessities." He pauses and a look of admiration crosses his face as he recalls her. "She proved them all wrong though. She showed us all that she was more. That dolls were more than these emotionless shells whose only purpose was for us to use." Another smile and the affection Hei feels for Yin is blatantly apparent. "She said it was _me_. That I was the one that woke her up and made her feel again." A shake of his head. "Not that she expected anything from me either. Never pressed that I share my own feelings or that I should have them in response to hers. She understood and she knew, she knew I cared and that was enough for her. She never complained. It was a fresh feeling to not be burdened in that way. With other women... and for some foolhardy reason, there were many, there was an expectation. An obligation when they told me their misguided feelings. They wanted that reciprocation. Yin asked for nothing and expected nothing."

"Which made you want to give her something."

"How else to repay someone who you could actually be yourself with? That you didn't need to hide your true self from and that never asked you for anything? It was a freedom I did not have since losing my sister," that look of regret flashes across his face. "In the end, they both sacrificed themselves to protect me when I was should have been the one protecting them. Now, to see her on the other side of me... I cannot believe it. I will not believe it. She has only ever disobeyed when she was trying to help me and disobeying was something a Doll just does not ever do."

"So you think her being with Niveus is somehow for your benefit?"  
"She might not have known I was even here."

Her supposed to be, emotionless demeanor would not have given away her surprise either, he surmises.

"No matter what, I have to get to her," Hei says.

Having heard some of their history, he can understand that. He himself wanted to demand answers to his own counterpart.

"So you love this Yin because she is the only one you can be yourself with?"

Hei looks off into the distance.

"I was a spy. I was the best. It was easy for me to infiltrate companies and integrate myself into peoples lives for the objective of the Syndicate. Everyone I came into contact with saw a side of me that didn't exist. They only saw what I wanted them to see. I always played a part, but always hid under a mask both literally and figuratively. Yin was the only beside my sister who ever saw behind it. Who saw _me_."

This answer makes him feel something like jealous envy pierce through him. He had never let go enough to even have such a liberty with Stella. Though it was only with her, besides his friends, that he had felt tempted to let his own mask drop. Even then, she had always seen through it. He may not have actually dropped the act, but she had always seen what was behind it just the same.

"Such a freedom must have been... nice," he observes.

"You weren't yourself with Stella?"

"I did not think I was, but she always knew," he replies with a snort of amusement. "Even when I tried to hide myself, she always saw me and not what I projected. No one except my brothers have been able to do that."

"You're fortunate to have a great and faithful support system."

"I am."

"But the intimacy with a woman is an entirely different kind of connection. You are telling me that Stella was it."

"Yes."

"And it seems you've lost her to the enemy too."

"Not just any enemy...," he begins to say but is interrupted by Ignis' calling his name.

"Noct."

"Ignis," he says with a small nod. He is instantly wary as he braces for whatever news Ignis must have.

"The news of the final councilman's death is all over the morning news."

"How did that leak so fast? We have not even finished collecting the evidence from the scene."

"I'd say our old friend made sure of it," Ignis says with a roll of his eyes.

"He's working fast," comments Hei. "Which means whatever you mean to do, you better do it fast."

Forcing his hand , which would greatly increase the percentage of error.

"Noct? What do you want to do?"

"Call a press conference," he orders.

"I can do that. We already have the royal spokesperson..."

"I think it is time the people saw me speak to them instead of the castle hiding behind a presentative."

"Er... are you sure?"

He lets out a long breath at that. Public speaking was _not_ his strongest suit and he has avoided it at every opportunity in the past. Sensing the cameras on him, always made him shut down and come off as both arrogant and cold. A public image that he has always had, but now, he had to redeem himself in the eyes of his people. He needed them to support him if he wanted to avoid the detonation of his country and opening the way for the upcoming invasion from a deadly force that has been orchestrating everything that has happened to bring them to this point. Without the trust of his people, all that he has done and sacrificed would all be for nothing. Niveus being alive already made it seem invalid already. He has to change tactics. He did not do all he has already done to let that bastard win... and win Stella too.

He should have acted sooner. He should have done the job right the first time.

"Like I said," he repeats. "It would be more insulting for me to hide behind a spokesperson than for me to address them myself. They need to know I am doing more than just lazying around and living off their taxes without a care."

"I can get a press conference set up within an hour," reassures Ignis, already typing out messages on his phone. "Then we can get something to put together a speech for you."

"No written speeches."

"What?"

"Whatever I say on that screen to my people will come directly from me," he says firmly. "It will not be written with someone else's words but my own."

Ignis has an apprehensive look on his face that is both understandable and somewhat exasperating considering, but there is no use getting riled about that now.

"I think the people need to see another side of me," he says by way of explanation. "But I want you to make sure that we use secure lines and have the best we have to monitor any attempts at blocking or interfering with the broadcast." He looks to Hei. "Contractors can do anything, right?"

"If that happens I could have a tracing software ready ," suggests Ignis. "That way we can find out where they are in the city at least. They wouldn't be able to do it from very far away, would they?"

"No, they would still have to be relatively close," Hei answers.

"What's the range on a Doll?" Ignis asks.

"You give Yin enough time and she can search the entire city. As long as there is water close by."

"How many dolls do you think Niveus has?"

"There weren't a lot of Dolls where I am from and you have no way of properly programing them either. So they will most likely not be fully functional even if he had a lot of them. We just have to worry about two Dolls right now. Yin and the other one that can uses glass to see."

"But they could be coached by Yin."

"True, they could. In any case, you will always see the observer spirit of a doll when it is watching you. It's not a totally undetectable method of watching people. Since you guys seem to be able to see them, we shouldn't have too much of a problem."

"Guess we have to just take things as they come," he says, knowing that will not please Ignis.

"When you give your speech, you have to be aware that there are Contractors that will be watching too. Normal people and Contractor alike, you must reach them all. People are ruled by emotions so they will be appeased with how you convey your thoughts whereas Contractors are slaves to their rationality. They need to be convinced being on your side is within their best interests. If they figure you are not worth their survival, they will side with Niveus when the time comes."

"No pressure then, right?" he asks with a smirk.

"Just how many Contractors are we talking about here?" asks Ignis.

"To answer that, you need to look at the stars."

"What do you mean? Our stars are the same."

"Have you see the sky while inside your Dome?"

The question not only makes him pause, it makes him want to smack himself for not checking sooner. He should have. He knew better.

"Going back to our previous conversation before Ignis got here. What I need to know is...," starts Hei, giving him a dark look. "Is how your Stella could be working with this Niveus guy in the first place."

"You mean, what is the connection between them?"

"Yes."

He shakes his head at how sordid it all sounds, but that cannot be helped. It was sordid, no matter how it was worded.

"Niveus is Stella's fiance."


	9. Persona

Persona is Latin for, "a mask" as worn by actors.

_**Chapter Nine: Persona**_

All around him, there is a flurry of activity. The comings and goings of the work staff scrambling to prepare everything before his big moment. He watches in barely suppressed amusement when he receives the occasional nervous and wary glances thrown his way, before the obligatory bow in respect to his birthright. The anxiety is palpable. He can read it on their faces and it takes a lot not to smirk in order to increase their discomfort. No one ever considered how their own actions made _him_feel and now he had to consider theirs. Which he does, because he knows what he will say now will affect everything he has done thus far. In their eyes they ask him not to mess this up but there is also have distant and deeper hope that he will. Because they all do not expect much from him after all. They also did not have any idea what he has already done for their sakes and though he does not plan to enlighten them. He only hopes that his actions help his kingdom get through victoriously. For now, silence was his only card to play.

It is another reason to keep his words and thoughts to himself. It means he needs to keep that element of surprise and thus, keep his advantage. An advantage that he thrives on. Especially when he meets each of their stares head on with a face void of expression. His mask is firmly settled and gave nothing away. Something he knows sets them off balance and gives them a clear message that he was not to be trifled with.

"What?!" snaps Pro defensively when yet another backstage hand gives him that wary look. "Never seen a Prince before?!"

"You'd think he slithered out from Etro's gate," grumbles Glad with a glare of his own and his well built arms cross imposingly in front of his chest.

_Perhaps they would prefer that I did_, he mutters in his head as another hand gives him that same look before scurrying away in the face of his friends' wrath.

_"Have you ever noticed how people look at you?"_

_"Like they hate me almost as much as they are curious."_

_"I would not say that it is hate that I see in their gazes," she said, looking around them while he was too busy looking at only her._

_He marveled at how she could stand out and shine so brightly even when they were surrounded by so many people._

_"Are you certain they are not merely staring at_you_?" he asked, arching an eyebrow._

_"No, they are most definitely looking at you," she said, giving him one of her smiles._

_"What do you see in their gazes?"he asked, curious to hear her thoughts._

_"I see wariness. I also see expectation," she answered. "You have a certain aura about you."_

_"My haughty persona?" he asked._

_Something he has heard before. Plenty of times._

_"No," she said with a shake of her head. "I think they expect you to do much, yet are uncertain if they can trust you." She peered at him closely as if she could have read into his mind. "But they_can_trust you. I know they can."_

_"And how can you be certain of this?" he asked skeptically._

Her only response had been a secret smile on her plush lips. He had thought at the time that she had been paying him back for all the those times he had merely remained silent to her queries. Now, he wonders why. Why she kept that answer a secret. What had her thoughts been. She must not think the same now as she did then. Not when she has sided with the man they had both despised so much. Though, he suspected he had not despised Niveus as much as she had. Her siding with his rival was something else he can blame himself for however. He had all but thrown her to the clutches of his enemy, no matter how unwittingly. No matter that he had believed the other man dead when he had pushed her away. No matter he had done so thinking that she would finally be free. Had he known the other man had survived he… well he cannot say if he would have done any differently. Or would he?

"Noct?"

"Yes?" he asks, looking up to find Ignis in front of him while holding out a transmitter.

"Hei wouldn't wait and is already inside the Dome. Thought you might want a live feed."

"Multitasking," mutters Pro. "As if you didn't have enough to worry about right now."

"No, I think Hei is right to hurry," puts in Glad. "Niveus would probably make his move while you're speaking and Hei would be the best to track him down."

"But he cant be everywhere at once," argues Pro. "Plus he's in the Dome. Who's to say that Niveus is even there?"

"At least he seems to want to help us," he adds in. "We would be completely in the dark about the Contractors were it not for him. Especially considering our enemy has a powerful ally in Yin and who knows who else with abilities."

"Noct," says Pro hesitantly. "Why aren't you more pissed off about Stella being with that snowy bastard?"

"Upset?"

"Come _on_, Noct."

"They are betrothed."

"Which means squat now and you know it," says Glad.

"It didn't mean anything before," adds in Ignis.

"Your Majesty? You're on in five," says one of the camera men, before rushing back out.

"That is my cue," he says, glad to be saved from answering.

"Noct," Glad stop him.

"One thing at a time," he responds. "I can only deal with things as they come." He lifts the transmitter and places it easily in his ear. "Two things at a time, I suppose is more accurate. You are not helping me by making me think of her right now."

"You're right. Sorry. A little insensitive of us," apologizes Pro.

"We just worry, Noct," says Glad.

"I have to go now," he says, but he gives them each a nod to show that there are no hard feelings. "Wish me well."  
"You'll do great, Noct."

"You can speak better than the rest of us. You'll be fine," reassures Pro.

"Thanks," he responds. Turning from them he takes a deep breath before walking through the curtains and into the den of vultures waiting to get their bite of him.

Bulbs flash fire across his retinas and he is momentarily blinded by their intensity. He can feel the heat of all those lights bearing down him. It reminds him of dawn, when he feels the oppressive light and feels the instinctive urge to run and hide back into the shadows. A part of him wishes that he could do that now. The urge is there. He will not though. He cannot hide and it scares him to realize that if he is to be a success today, he needs to show a side of himself that he has always kept fiercely guarded. He needed to expose a bit of vulnerability as well as his determination to deliver his people and his country from this new territory that they face. This is something that is nearly impossible for him after a lifetime of perfecting the persona that they all know. He looks out into all those skeptical faces and countless camera lenses and he cannot think of anything harder.

"_Why must I do this?"_

"_You need to practice, Sweet heart."_

"_Mother, what is there to know? I only need to know how to fight."_

"_There is more to being a Prince than wielding a weapon, Dear One."_

"_But I_want_to learn how to fight, Mother," his younger self protested. "Not stand around in frilly frocks on a stage to be looked upon like this."_

"_He is quite right, my Queen," his father's deep baritone voice rumbled in. "Noctis has no use for any of those skills. He should be trained as a soldier." His father motioned for him to run along but he manged to hear the last bit of his parents' conversation._

"_He must learn_all_the etiquette required of his station," his mother's soft voice argued._

"_He will only be useful as a soldier," his father responded dismissively. "That is_all _he will ever be."_

If only his father could see him now. The perfect soldier. The efficient killer. Now, the public speaker. Something his father had never wanted him to be involved with. All because he had never wanted him to be king. Now, here he was.

The irony.

The complete irony of fate.

A genuine smile threatens to touch his lips and he looks at all those that stare at him so critically and suddenly feels a strength previously untapped.

"As has been mentioned before, I would ask that there be no questions while I speak for what I have to say, people have been waiting to hear. My coming to you directly is long overdue. " He quickly glances across the manyfaces before continuing. "I know that many of you have been demanding answers and thus far, all responses given from this podium have been disappointing and highly unsatisfactory. I too am frustrated with the lack of real answers. I want answers as much as everyone here does." He takes a deep breath. "But I would like to start where it is due. _No_ one feels the loss of my father, our fallen King, as acutely as I do. We were all robbed of a proper mourning period when the Dome appeared and turned our lives upside down. Since then, many things have taken place. Many of those things, we do not understand and certain things that had previously been thought impossible, are possible. To make matters even worse, there is a group of people that has taken it upon themselves to not only invade our borders but to brutally murder our leaders."

He lets those words sink in for a moment.

"I know the rumors. I know many think that it was I who is the mastermind behind all these senseless killings. That I would do such a thing in a pathetic attempt at gaining power. There is no way to convince those who have already convinced themselves of my guilt. I am not here now to try and persuade them to think otherwise. I do stand here before you now to ask that you please follow me through this incredibly challenging time. As we no longer have an active government, I am assuming the role given to me by my lineage. Until we can establish a working government again, I will act as Regent. Our laws are still in effect. We must protect our city and our people. This I entreat as a man who must reluctantly step up in order to take swift action in a heated situation. We all must agree that quick action should be taken and this I am doing. We must deal with the many threats that our great nation is under attack from and all those who are responsible for these recent atrocities will be dealt with justly and swiftly. While we do that we must also strengthen our efforts on figuring out where and why the Dome is here. There is much we must do and the only way we can is by working together."

"I'm all set up inside the Dome. Not seeing any activity yet," he hears Hei through the transmitter. "Wait. A small cluster of stars are active."

"I am not picking up anything on the onsite cameras," replies Ignis.

"Something is going on _somewhere_."

"Now is a time of trial for us as a nation. What we do now will prove whether we are as strong as we have always been proud to be or if we will weakly crumble under the pressure of change and opposition. I will do all in my power to see that the latter does not happen." He pauses to collect his breath. "I would ask that when the time comes, when we start to see incredible things to come..."

"Something is definitely happening. Are you sure you don't see anything on that end?"

"No. All looks clear."

"...that we not react in fear, but with bravery. Please, support me in this war that others have started and we will see it to its conclusion stronger..."

He is just about to conclude when he notices a odd distortion in the lights ahead of him.

"Get down!" he shouts just before a shot rings out from the illusionary void and a bullet bounces against his shield. "One of the Contractors can make himself invisible," he rushes out before he teleports in front of the visage to protect the screaming reporters.

More shots ring out but he is able to deflect those too. With a wave of his arm, three of his swords are flying in the air towards the translucent figure but they only hit air as his assailant ducks out of the way just in time. He grits his teeth and strains his eyes to catch any distortion in the area around him again. When that proves futile, he snatches one of the bright lights and flashes the surrounding area. Instantly, he sees his predator turned prey and teleports just in time to stop them from making their escape. His arm shoots out and grabs them by the scruff of their neck, then tackles them onto the ground as the guards all circle around them. He makes sure he has the individual properly pinned before he speaks.

"Since you are no longer incognito, I suggest you show me your face," he says, tightening his grip to convey that it is not really a suggestion. "They really can do anything," he mutters to himself when the transcendent figure changes and he can see the man that he holds prone to the ground.

A middle aged man. Very nondescript and would pass for utterly ordinary in a crowd. A perfect choice if one could choose who became Contractors and what they could do.

"Good catch, Noct," says Ignis' relieved voice. "Are you all right?"

"Made an otherwise boring event rather stimulating."

"Yin!" Hei's voice gasps on the other end of the transmitter.

"She's there?" Ignis' voice asks.

"It's her observer spirit," replies Hei amid the sounds of pursuit.

"It might be a trap," he warns.

"Doesn't matter," Hei answers. "I need to see..."

"What? Do you see Yin?"

"Stop!" shouts Hei and the pursuit becomes more heated. Then it sounds like the rapid sounds of air, like he is flying and then a heavy landing upon a hard surface.

A worth chase while his was over before it had officially begun, though no less important. He stands while the guards take over and secure the man.

"Will you make this easy? Or will you be difficult?" he asks with his stare set upon the man.

"You do not deserve to rule," the man bites out angrily.

"I know," he says simply and the man's eyes widen in surprise.

Did the people think he did not know these things? That he had no self awareness? No sense at all?

"But there is also no one left who does," he continues evenly. "But I will not allow my people to fall into the hands of invaders either."

The man frown at him suspiciously. Obviously, not trusting that his words are sincere.

"Now, who sent you?"

The man clenches his jaw stubbornly in response and he almost lets out a frustrated sigh. In his ear, he can hear the clanking sounds of metal against metal and frowns. None of what Hei had told him suggested that Yin was a fighter, but perhaps he should have assumed that she was. Nobody is speaking but he can hear Hei's labored breaths and someone else's breaths. Someone familiar… His alarmed eyes fly to the man.

"Did Niveus send you?"

He has his answer in the man's involuntary response.

"It doesn't matter what I tell you. It doesn't matter who sent me either."

"Of course it does!" he snaps. "We are at war and not just from our natural enemies. Your actions have consequences. There is always something who will be forced to pay for the actions you take. Were you _really_ prepared for something you love to pay if you had succeeded or failed to kill me?"

He sees the small amount of uncertainty in the man's face and shakes his head grimly. The mask is begging to slip with his frustration and impatience. He looks to the surrounding guards and jerks his head.

"Take him in for questioning. Bound at all times considering he can blend into the scenery so well."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the guards reply with a bow.

He then hears the sounds of shooting electricity and closes his eyes. Though he already knows the next words that are to be spoken, he still nearly flinches when Hei speaks.

"I have Stella."

A vision of Stella's beaming smile dashes across his vision and he feels that sharp pain pierce through his chest.

"Bring her to me, will you?" he asks softly.

"I'm getting a car ready right now," says Pro. "We'll get her and bring her in safely, Noct."

"Thank you," he says and for the first time in his life, he does not know how to keep his mask in place.


	10. Iterum

Iterum is Latin for, "again, second time, once again".

_**Chapter Ten: Iterum**_

_"Do you love him?"_

_"What sort of question is that?"_

_"A rather simple one."_

_"I thought we already established that he only wanted me for his own ambition."_

_"But you have never mentioned your own feelings towards him."_

_"Why are you asking me this?" she demanded in confusion, a frown marring her delicate features._

_ He had felt no need to explain his question and merely waited for her to respond. Like many times before, she did not have him wait for long. He watched the hurt flash across her face before a long sigh escaped her lips and she shook her head._

_"I wanted to," she admitted. "I think at first I even convinced myself that I _could_ love him so that I could live with the decision forced upon me."_

_"And now?" he pressed on unfairly._

_"Now," she hesitated, though she did not take her eyes away from his. "There is no way that I could go through it. No way that I could bind myself to him."_

It never fails to feel like a swift blow to the chest whenever he recalls that conversation. He had known, even then, that he had not been fair in demanding such a straightforward answer when he had never given her one of his own. It had been a selfish gesture to push such a confession from her. Of the two of them, she had always been the more truthful. Even though, in a way he felt that he had finally given her a chance to voice the feelings she had been wanting to tell him. Now, as he is about to face her again with so much unresolved between them, he does not know what he can say. He has no right to ask her why she choose Niveus in the end. He as no right to make any demands.

"I might have missed something before," he admits, his eyes not leaving Stella's form showing on the monitor. "Did she say anything?"

"No, but she looked surprised to see me there," answers Hei, who is standing against the far wall across from him.

"I thought you were chasing Yin," says Pro, blinking his confusion to Hei.

"I thought she was leading me to her too. But when her Observer Spirit disappeared, I saw Stella standing there instead," explains Hei. His arms are crossed and his eyes stare at the floor to hide the influx of emotions he must be feeling.

"So Yin led you to Stella," he states, feeling impressed and bemused all at once. "You did say that Yin only went against you when it was for your overall benefit."

"She does," Hei replies, lifting his gaze to meet his and it is then it seem that Hei reaches an understanding inside himself.

"Does that mean that Stella might be playing Niveus?" suggests Glad.

He wanted to think so. He almost desperately wanted to believe that was what she was doing, but he has never thought denial attractive and he is too jaded to believe that life was kind enough for that. This is not a reflection on how he sees Stella specifically, but _everyone_. There have been far too many people in the past that he had wanted to trust but had ultimately betrayed him.

"It is time we find out the answer to that," he says, moving to the door of her appointed rooms.

"I thought your speech was well said, by the way," Hei remarks when he is just about to reach for the handle.

The remark makes him frown when he turns to meet the other man's gaze.

"I don't know about everyone else, but they should be glad to have someone like you around to put things back together."

"Someone like me," he slowly repeats in a low voice. Genuine compliments are so rarely expressed to him that it is strange to actually hear one.

"Someone who isn't stuck behind a desk simply making all the decisions and I think, isn't hiding behind a lie."

"Secrets lead to lies."

"Only if you lie about having them."

They eye each other a moment and he cannot find a thing to say, so great is his surprise. "You've never lied about it and… I don't think you plan on starting, do you?" A question expressed in the form of statement.

Cryptic if he ever heard anything so, but it hits too close to the root truth that he does not respond and chooses to focus on turning the knob and opening the door. He can think about that later. Later when he does not feel so shaken and unbalanced. Everything is happening too quickly that he has not had any time to collect himself. He enters the room with so many thoughts swirling around in a vortex of chaos in his mind that he is nothing but a mess. What he wants to do is run, but all he can do is take further steps toward the fragile yet indestructible person lying on the bed. He wishes, in that brief moment when he allows himself to, that he could run away with her.

Palms sweaty and heart beat racing, a peculiar sensation churns in his gut. Nervousness washes over him. As uncomfortable has he had been speaking to the public earlier, it does not even compare to the anxiety he feels walking closer to her prone form. Words spoken by faceless people did not hurt so well as from her. She could say or do anything and he knows he has no shield against her. She alone had the ability to open him to so great a vulnerability that she scares him more than anyone.

He does not try to be quiet as he moves about and noisily settles into the lounge chair placed beside the bed. Long blond hair cascades along the pillow and with her back to him, he finds it a little easier to gather strength to speak.

"I know that you are awake," he manages to say evenly. "Will you speak with me?"

The sudden tensing of her back proves him correct before he sees her cautiously rise into a sitting position and slowly turning her body to face him. He has to fight a scowl at the hollow look that remains in her eyes. The very same one from the last time he has seen her and he would rather see her wrath than this.

"Have I fallen so far from your good opinion that you feel nothing when you look at me?"

Hollowness is replaced with confusion but she does not verbally respond.

"I thought you were dead," he admits softly. To speak any louder would give away more emotion than he will allow himself to. "Goddess, I thought I would never see you again."

"Again?" her soft voice asks.

His blue eyes fly to her violet ones and he barely restrains himself from reaching for her.

"No matter how I left things the last time we met, I never wanted any of this to happen."

Those eyes of hers blink at him a number of times. More surprise and that frustrates and confuses him further. She had known him. Despite all his attempts to keep her from seeing, she had always seen _him_. She had to have known he cared for her, despite it all. There was no reason for her to be surprised. Had he really succeeded in convincing her of his indifference when he had not even convinced himself?

With a long sigh, he leans forward to rest his elbows atop his knees. "I wish you would stop looking like you believe I would harm you," he says warily.

"I, I have no reason to believe otherwise," she replies softly.

His eyes fly to hers and for the first time he finally notices, really notices the expression in her eyes. What he sees almost would have made him stagger back if he were not already sitting. Then he wants to rage.

For within the confusion and sympathy, he realizes what that the hollowness means. Something so blatantly obvious that he should have noticed sooner but he has been too distracted. Something he has completely disregarded when he should have been paying attention. The anger wells up so high within him that he can feel the air around them crackle with it. He leans in dangerously close to her and can feel his blue eyes turn red.

"You are not my Stella," he fairly seethes.

To think, he believed he had gotten her back. To think, he had actually allowed himself to hope.

"Your Stella?"

"How is it that you came to be there when Hei was chasing after Yin?" he demands, barely keeping his voice level.

"Hei?" she asks with surprise.

"The man that captured you," he explains with a calmness he does not feel. He wants to throw something. He wants to hurt something to match how he feels right now. He wants to tear the room apart with his hands bare hands. Most of all, he wants to be gone and alone so no one can witness his inner torment at knowing that this woman was not the one he wanted.

"You mean the masked man that knows Yin?" she asks carefully and waits for his answering nod, because nodding is all he can do calmly. "Yin is working for you, is that it?" There is honest betrayal behind her tone. Too great for just a passing acquaintance. "I trusted her," she goes on. "I trusted her and…" Those violet eyes fly to him. "She led me to you."

That she did. He does not understand the reasons behind that but he is grateful. He is very grateful for this clarity that Yin has provided.

"Now you say that I am not your Stella."

What else is there to say to that? He can blame it on the slip of a tongue. His shock had been so great that he had just blurted it out instead of keeping it to himself like he should have. He does not answer her, but makes towards the door instead. There were no more answers that he would get from her that would be prudent at this time.

"Please! Wait!" she begs from behind him. He can hear her shuffle to her feet and try to come towards him but he stiffens before turning his head to peer at her from over his shoulder. If she touched him, he does not know what he will do. "I have been trying to understand what has happened to me." She must know he is livid and yet she still takes another step closer to him. Like she is more afraid of him leaving her than him staying. "I believe that you will be able to help me."

"Help you?" he asks skeptically.

"There are so many things that have not made any sense since…," she hesitates.

"Since what?"

He watches as she bites her lip in an unconscious gesture that has his heart beginning to beat faster in a way that was not related to anger.

"Since the destruction of my home," she says finally.

"What do you mean?"

"You are saying that I am not the Stella that you knew. Which means that you did know me, which means that you can answer questions that I have had since… since Yin saved me that day of the explosion."

"Are you expecting me to believe that you lost your memories in that blast?" he asks in disbelief.

"You have a right to be suspicious. As I have a reason to be wary of you," she replies. "So why does my heart tell me to trust you?" Her small fist clenches against her breast and he can see the familiar stubbornness that he always found so endearing. He could tell it was not a practiced move, but an unconscious gesture. Still, he cannot trust himself enough to think it proof of what she has claimed. "When I know in my head that, that is the last thing that I should do."

"I suppose that means we are at an impasse, are we not?" he asks. "I find your story of amnesia a bit too convenient."

"We are special to each other," she states and she sounds accusing.

"How much of your memory have you supposedly lost?" he asks to evade that statement.

"I am not sure entirely," she answers, thinking it over. "I would say the last year."

Very convenient. That entirety of their acquaintance.

"You said Yin saved you that day?"

"Yes, she did. Yin is very powerful. She managed to keep the both of us alive but I was injured already injured. Then Niveus came for us afterwards."

He finds himself stiffening at the mention of that other man's name. The way in which she utters it is so very different than the way she would have said it before. There is dependence and affection and it almost makes him sick.

"Yin told me about a man named Hei. How he always protected her and watched over her."

He nods, not knowing where she is going with this line of thought.

"I could tell from the way that he reacted to her the other night that it was must be him. I could not be sure because she did not speak of him afterwards. But, she led me to him. She must have known that he would bring me to you. That would mean that we are special to each other."

How does he respond to that?

"You did something," she says, accurately reading him. "You have done things you are not proud of and one of them involves me."

"And you can tell that how?" he asks cynically.

"The remorse on your face when I first saw you," she replies ignoring his tone.

It was so like her to render him speechless with her straight forwardness and she does so, so effortlessly.

"Please do not try to avoid answering the question," she says and he almost smiles at the familiar way she states this.

"I have done many bad things," he admits. "What I did to you, to _us_, was not one of them."

"At least, you believe that to be so," she clarifies as she studies him for a moment.

"What I did not intend, was for you to be injured and then taken care of by our enemy," he says through clenched teeth.

"Our enemy?"

"That is what I said," he replies with a nod. "So I do not think I can entirely trust you at present."

"Like you trusted me then?" she shoots back at him and again, he fears that she still sees too much because then she smiles sadly to herself. "You did not trust me then either."

"It was not you I did not trust."

"Then who?"

"Myself," he says a little harshly. "You did it then and you do it even now. Now even when I am supposed to believe that you do not remember everything that we... even when you say you do not remember," he finishes instead and does not want to give her even more power. Instead he focuses on taking steady breaths.

"I must have loved you fiercely," she observes quietly and when he looks at her face again, she looks conflicted. "I must have... but that does not make any sense."

"Why?"

"Because I belong to another," she says. "I cannot believe I would do something as dishonorable as to be engaged to one man while loving another or, even worse, loving two. That would make me a very frivolous woman."

"If anything, you always were too trusting," he reasons. "I would never even insinuate that you were frivolous."

She makes an amused sound that turns into a soft giggle that has him looking at her in confusion. She sobers at the look on his face but her mirth is so characteristic to her too that he cannot even be annoyed that she finds amusement now. To further throw him off balance, she reaches out and touches him lightly on the cheek.

He jerks at her touch with a flinch but he does not move away.

"If I meant that much to you, why did you let me go?" she asks. It sounds like a light chide when she has every right to demand the answer. Then she cocks her head to the side. "Complicated," she says before he can. "You are not what I was told you would be like."

"I get that a lot."

"And yet, you are just as you are supposed to be," are her mysterious next words and she cuts off their connection by taking her hand away from his cheek.

He almost snatches her hand to put it back and keep her skin against his.

He can see so much in her eyes and on her face that what they have said is causing a chaotic blend of emotions inside her. They mirrored how he felt at this moment too. Too many emotions when he hated having them at all.

"I would ask nothing from you," he says honestly. He could not hope to ask anything from her. He knows that without a doubt. Even were she to betray him now, he could not blame anyone but himself. "I would make no demands from you either."

"But what do you want from me anyway?" she asks.

"Only that you stay safe."

"Is that all?" she asks in obvious surprise.

He debates for a moment whether to answer and realizes he needs to give just a little if he were to gain her trust.

"I did not take news of your death well," he explains, looking away for a moment. "I do not know how I would bear losing you a second time."

"That makes no sense," she argues. "When it is obvious from your demeanor that we were not together when I lost my memory."

"It was a comfort knowing that you were alive somewhere and well," he replies. "I need that comfort again. You were the best I could do."

She opens her mouth but no words escape her. He can see her, his Stella, inside wanting to rage at him about being so stubborn and he wishes he could hold her, but he still cannot allow himself that. She looks frustrated and guilty and many other things that are too varied to register all at once. She tries again to speak when an explosion rocks the castle, nearly knocking her off her feet. He reaches out to steady her and gets a full view of her eyes. Those violet eyes look knowing and alarmed.

"You need to let me go now," she warns in a fearful tone and he knows she does not mean out of his current.

She is fearful for his safety.

Still so kind. Still so caring. If only...

"Niveus?" he asks, not allowing himself to think of those useless wishes again, but instead pulls away from her and readies himself for a fight.

"No!" she cries, grabbing hold of his jacket desperately to bring him back to her. "Just let me go."

"It does not stop just because I return you," he replies sternly but he makes no move to take her hands off his collar. He looks at her sharply. "Do you wish to go?"

She looks torn for a moment, biting her lip again in that nervous gesture that is so familiar. "I want to stay with you."

Her answer surprises him but he has not time for this.

"Than you shall," he says simply. "And no one will take you away from me."

"Niveus would not come himself now," she states, in that same wary tone. "It is too soon."

The coward.

Too soon for what would be something else he could ask her later, but right now they had more pressing matters. "Who would he have sent?"

"The Dragon Knight."


End file.
